The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1887-11-11
CHAPTER II.
SUPPER AT FOCUSES.

The long frame ell running north
from the main building that consti-
tuted to the world of the main street
of Sanltown the tavern proved.a as is
often the case in this life. by far the
most potential element in the combina-
ton. On the ground floor Was the
long dining-room, and back of it the
kitchen. On the low second floor
were eight bedrooms for board
ers and travellers. And. although
Bogusses was the only tavern in
Sandtown. these eight bedrooms were
fully competent to shelter all the
boardcrs and the travelling public. save
perhaps when. as now happened. the
circuit court of the district comprising
ten counties was in session.
At such times the large room east Of
the "entry" was given up TO the judge
and the itinerant bar And ut the very
moment of the call to supper. the
court and the bar was filing out of this
room and on into the fining-room
where a table, that stretched from end
to end of the room. was being rapidly
filed up by the hungry crowd that
poured out of the bar-room where they
had long been strainin% their ears for
the first peal OF Bogusses iubilant bell.
Bogus Leatherwood himself, leading
the way TO the head of the table. not
in the suave manner of this day of
.hcad-waiters'' and stewards" but
with the stcadfast gravity of the corpu-
lent man of fifty or thereabouts. and
with his brown eyes looking sternly
from under shaggy iron-gray brows.
in every direction. was a spectacle. or
would have been if all the people in
miles of Sandtown had not seen him
often and often.
l say ..all the people" advisedly.
For it is well-known fact that every
body ate at Bogusscs table. Men with
out the faintess hope of present or
future ability to pay had remained at
BoSusscs month after month, and in
some eases year after year. without
money and without price, to the Won
der and disgust OF all the thrifty ci;i-
zens who had homes of their own, and
only occasionally ate at Bogusscs table
without paying.
True, So~US sometimes had odd jobs
for many of these retainers of his. and
might in that way consider that he OBJ
tanned part payment. More than once
had Buck and l gone with dozen of
them. among whom was Seef Dairy, to
ride and lead a small herd OF horses to
the distant city markf. And now
since have thought over the subject
of that large following of free boar,lers.
l have arrived 1T Il conclusion diamet-
really opposed to that of the thrifty
citizens who in those days denounced
Bogus Leathcrwood for taking 1.-The
bread right plum outcn his faTbly's
mouth I'm sivun ut to lot OF ornery,
| .ri!lun. no-count feliers like than.
Because, in spite of the daily
prophecy that Bogus must bust"
soon. or quit such improvident ways,
in fact he throve from the day that the
DtackSUIlN NOucu tue DiS Siusii z
sign" and all the town joined in
raising the twentv-foot oak beam that
bore il aloft. and could as easily have
held ton of zach ..signs"-so massive
was it. It was well known that he
had bought large bodies of timber
and '.prairry" land; and my sister
Elizabeth told me that she had seen
the deeds conveying ever and ever so
many quarter sections TO Polly Ann.
And the mention of that name takes me
back to Bogus Leatherwood's supper
table on that April evening of the ar
rival of the beautiful bays and their
drivers.
Being at times in the employ of the
landlord. !. too. very often sat down at
his bounteous second table" along
with the cooks and the waiter gj-.z.
and more particularly wiki Mise
Leatherwood and her only daughter.
Polly Ann.
fro BE CONTINUED.
The United States has three hmm.
II